Initial Chanel Ideas

This weeks group collaboration was the most useful for me as I felt like I have really moved forward in terms of my ideas and understanding of where we are going as a group. The previous two weeks were more about researching the brand Chanel and briefcases and creating moodboards, whereas this week we made important decisions about the ideas we want to use for the project.

After speaking to Marine the Interior Design student in my group, I felt a lot more clear on what to do next. She discussed her ideas for the space in which we will be exhibiting our ‘Chanel Briefcase’. The building will include 3 main rooms exhibiting different customizable versions of the briefcase. One idea of hers I loved is having hanging Chanel No5 perfume bottles around the spiral staircases. As Chanel No5 is such an iconic part of the brand, I am considering using its imagery in my textile pieces. There might be a bar area, this opens up lots of possibilities for me in terms of what I can make for example, cushions, seating, lampshades. One room has a high ceiling and we discussed the idea of having some sort of floral textile installation hanging from above. The briefcases will be shown with mannequins so I could create accessories or clothing to go on the mannequins in a similar style. The main colour pallette will be black, white and gold as these are the iconic Chanel colours. When it comes to doing some print samples I will try layering up a black and white design with gold foiling on top to add the ‘luxury’ element.

As there will be 3 rooms I thought that I could design 3 different patterns/designs, which can then be used as a running theme throughout the exhibition. Here are some drawings that I did on the session on Tuesday.

As a group we chose our favourite design drawn by Jack who is a product design student. I talked to him about potentially adding a smaller detachable purse/handbag which would enable the working woman (our target market) to easily carry her most important things with her rather than a bulky briefcase. As the briefcase design has compartments, this idea works well as the purse will be able to slide out as one of the compartments. We will create detachable straps which can be customizable, this is another place where my patterns will fit in. I think it will fit together nicely with the lining of the briefcase, the purse and the straps all to be in matching patterns.

Next I need to start sampling some ideas, I will draw some designs which I can then screenprint onto a variety of fabrics and add stitch on top. I will start designing some purses and experiment with fabric techniques to try and create the textured leather effect we are hoping to use.